Explosive-fuel-mixture generator for hydrocarbon engines



March 4, 1930. w. [NGLETQN 1,749,030

EXPLOSIVE FUEL MIXTURE GENERATOR FOR HYDROCARBON ENGINES Filed Aug. 18, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 1930- J. w. INGLETON ,0 0

EXPLCSIVE FUEL MIXTURE GENERATOR FOR HYDROCARBON ENGINES Filed Aug. 18, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a dc U I V Patented Mar. 4, 1930;

. JiiiVgESiW.:nveiaatroiT,or'AszroRrA, 'onneoiv' Leslie-clea sed august 18," 1925. Seri a1 .1To'. 50,952'.

The invention relates to new and useful im provements "in a vaporizer for grhydrocarbon' e ngines.

' *An object "of the invention'is' to provide a 5 vaporizer wherein steam} is thoroughly intermixed with vaporized orgasified hydrocarbonoil and air prior toithe'fsupplying of the mixture to the combustion-chamber of the cylinder;

0 A further object of the invention is to provide a-vaporizerofthe above type-wherein the hydrocarbon oil is vaporized or gasified by heat, after which itis thoroughly mixed Fig. 3, and

- with air, and-whereinsaid vaporized or gasi-z fied oil andzair is supplied with steambefo re 50 fully disclosed;

the. mixture is supplied to the combustion still further object of-the inventionis to provide a'vaporizerof the above type,,where- L129 in water is "supplied "to the vaporizer which vaporizesor grasifies the oil, so thatsa d'water will be generated intosteam and'the steam thoroughly intermixed 1 with "the vaporized hydrocarbon .oil;

5 A still further objector-the inmate is to provide a vaporizer of the above type wherein the vaporizer is; located adjacent the exhaust manifold and sothat the-vaporizing chamber will be heated by the exhaust gases. A still further object of theinvention is to provide a vaporizer consistin'g'of a series of "chambers which are' interconnected s0 that the hydrocarbon oil to be vaporized may be fed to certain of said chambers, and thevapor I passed. into anotherchamber where it is further heated and vaporizedy A still further object ofthe'inventionfis-to the. vaporizing chambers will flow I along the walls ofthe chamber toxa point 'where said heavy particles are 'further subjectedto a vaporizing heat so as to insureia more efficient vaporizing carbonoiltw r I 7 These and'other objects will in part be obvious and will in part behereinafter more wherein the hydrocarbon oil :isfsubj ected to heat jsothat it will be vaporized or .gasi-fied.

generated during the heating of said chamber provide avaporizer of the'above type, where-. in said-chambers are so positioned that any. heavy'fuel particles-c ollectingfon theflwalls of.

bastion chamber of the engine. Thesteam or gasi y e 'Q'ft d r .1111 thefdrawiiigs which show by way of illustration one embodimentof the inventiom- Figure 1 is a front View showing my inventionapplied. to'ai hydrocarbonengine I Fig. 2 is a view'showing a portion of one 7 of the cylinders diagrammatically andthe arrangement of my improved devices relative thereto .Fig. 3 a vertical sectional view through my. improved generator forivaporizing or gasifying the hydroearbon oil and for sup- :plyingsteam to the vaporized or gasified oil.;

.Fig. 4 is-asectional view on the line 4+4 of Fig. 5 is a sectional lview ion-the line 5-5 of Theinvention in'its; broadest aspects directedto a vaporizer for hyd o arb 'gines, and includes :a -.generating chamber It' is believed thattthese' terms. are synonymous,

and-i therefore, thez'term vaporized-asapplied. towthe Iefi'e'ctfupon: the hydrocarbon ,oil

will be used. in its broadest aspect to cover v either avapor form of'fuel or gas" form of 7 fuel. 'Likewise3-the termvaporizer will be used in its broadestzsense. After'the' oil has been 'vaporized,itis passed through an air i .80

mixer where air is thoroughly mixed therewith, and is thence supplied to thecombustion chamberor chambers of the engine. Means 'is provided also vforsupplying water to the "generatingfchamber so that steamx will be.

thoroughly mixed withithe vaporized oil and' the supply of water. can be' regulated so that" thefamount ofsteam'mixed with the vaporize'd oil canjbe'varied." The. oil suppy can likewise .'1 be? varied. r The purpose of this steam in the vaporized oil is to prevent-the iormation of carbon deposi'sts on the wall of the generator, anvd in' fac't throughout the system in which itisus'ed; including the com:

is thoroughly mixed with the vaporized ;fu el oil and the air subsequent to passing" into' the combustion chamber of the engine. I aThis steam-in the combustion chamber not only tends to prevent' the formation of carbon .7

under compression, and the subsequent knocking which results therefrom. I This is accomplished by regulating the amount of 7 Water supplied to the generating chamber.

The vaporizer includes a series of gener ating chambers which are connected, and all of which are located in the heating medium for the generator. The hydrocarbon oil .to be vaporized is fed into the lower chamber of the generator and as it is vaporized, it

passes into the upper chamber and thence out through to the air mixer- The purpose of I having the series of chambers is to extend the area through which vaporization-is accomplished. These chambers are inclined and so connected that any oil not thoroughly vaporized collecting on the bottom of the upper chamber will flow back into. the lower chamber and again pass through the cycle of-heating for vaporization.

Referring more in detail to the drawings,

my improved generator consists of an outer casing l which is preferably provided with flanges 2 and 3. As illustrated in the drawings, the flange 3 of this generatoris con nected to the exhaust manifold 4 of the engine, and all the exhaust gases pass into and through this casing 1. The upper flange 2 is connected to a similar flange on the exhaust'pipe 5. Located in the casing 1 as illustrated in the drawings,are three generating chambers 6,7 and '8; The chamber 6 is connected to the chamber 8 by means of a short pipe 9, and the chamber 7 is connected :to the chamber 8 by means of a short pipe 10. The casing 1 is provided with a compartment 6%, for the chamber 6.; a compartment 7* for the chamber 7, and acompartment 8 for the chamber 8. These compartments are formed integral with the walls of the casing and are located within the casing 1. The chambers areinserted in'these compartments, and each chamberis secured in its respective compartment bya cap plate 11 and suitable bolts 12.

Each chamber has a flanged head 13, which rests in a recess or seat formedin the outer wall of the casing-'1 adjacent the outerend or its respective compartment. The cap plate 11 is not only secured to the chamber, but

also operates to secure the chamber in the compartment.

It 'is understood that the pipes 9 and 10 pass through the walls of the compartments and are in line with openings the walls of the generating chambers.

Located in the casing 1 is aseries of bafiie plates indicated at 14, 14. These battle plates are shaped to correspond to the casing in cross section at the intermediate portion thereof. and are welded to the wall of the ca'sing,'so that, they are rigidly supported therein. Each baffle plate is provided withan opening .therethrough which fits over the portions ofthe casing forming the compartments 6 [Wand 8 These bafiie plates are spaced from each other and are welded to the outeriwalls of these compartments. There is also a partition plate 15 welded to the inner wall of the casing-1 and extending from a point 16 adjacent the flange 3 to a point 17 adjacent one of the baffle plates. Thereis a similar partition plate 18 extending from a point 19 adjacent the upper flange 2 to a point 20 adjacent the upper edge of one of the baffle plates. These partition plates are so located that the exhaust gases will pass up between certain of the baffle plates at the left as shown .in Fig. 3, then down between certain of the baflie'plates in the center of the generator, and finally up between the baflie plates at the extreme right in this figure, and then out through the opening in the flange 2 into the exhaust pipe 5.

The purpose of these partitionsand baffle plates is to cause the exhaust gases to pass in and about the portions of thecasingit'orming the compartments and thus cause a very eflicient heating of the generating chambers. V

I The hydrocarbon Oil to be vaporized, according to the present embodiment ofthe in- V vention,'is fed into both the generating chamher 6 and into the generating chamber 7 These hydrocarbon Oll supply devices are simllar in construction, and a description of one will answer for both. Connected to the cap plate 11 of one of the lower compartments is a fuel nozzle or supply pipe 22, 'There is a similar fuel nozzle or supply pipe 22- for the other lower compartment, There is likewise a supply nozzle 21 connected to this cap plate 11 for supplying water to this vaporizing chamber 6, and a similar nozzle 21 for sup- .plying Water to the vaporizing chamber 7. Allofthese nozzles'are similar in construction, and one of them is shown in detail in Fig. 5.- The nozzle consists of a casing or pipe 23 having a discharge opening 24 in the inner end thereof. Said casing has an enlargement 25 which bears against the cap plate 11 and may be Welded thereto. Located in this casing or pipe 23 is a needle valve 26 provided with a tapered end 27 which is adapted to and outthrough the discharge opening 2 1 when it is open. Both the oil and water are fed to the generator by pumps so that the oil and Water is under pressure. of the oil or water against the taperedend 27 of the needle valve Will force the needle valve outwardly, or to the rightas viewed in Fig. 5, against the tension of the spring 30, thus openingtheport 24, so that the fluid i pass The pressure 35 through the pipe 36 into the air mixingcham- .ber will be thoroughly mixed with air and.

! inclination of these generating chambers 1s into the generatingchamber;- Thefcxten't to 7 which this needle'yalvemay be opened is vdetermined by a stop screw 32, which1s located I pends, as above noted,

in a-cap 33 attached to the casing 25 and housing the spring 3Q.- This stop" screw is 1 pro- "vided with a suitable head 34:1 accessible to the operator so that it may be readily adjusted, and a set-nut 35 is used for the purpose of looking it inset 0radj ustedposition. It will be.understood, of course, that when-the pressure of the feed pumps is sufficiently high for successful operation of the engine,' this needle valve is moved to openposition, and Wlll remain open unless for some reason the pressuch a point-that the-spring willclose the said lower Wall'and back through lthe pipes 9 and'IO into the lower generators, and along the bottomw'alls of the lower. generators to the rear ends; thereof, so that'said heavy-oil sureof the pump orthe fuelsupply drops to valve. The extent to'which it is opened, de-

thestop; screw v The oil fed into the lower partment will be vaporizedbycomingin con- "tact with the heated walls of the g'enerating,

upon the position of vap-orizing-comwill be again subjectedto the heatof the exhaust'gases and caused to vaporize andpass von into the upper chamber. Thus it is that the hydrocarbon oil will bevaporized more efiiciently, .as the heavy non-vaporized oil: f

running back will continue to cycle in the generator until it is thoroughlyvaporized. The water passing into the generators, will, of course, be at once turned intosteam, and thissteam will be thoroughly mixed with the vaporized hydrocarbon oil. The presence of the steamin the vaporizing chambers will prevent the formation of carbondeposits in.

said chamber, and thusalways keep the walls of said chambers clean and therebythe efiiciency of vaporization is .verygreatly increased. These inner generating chambers I areall removable fromtheycasing with very' little trouble so that theymay be thoroughly V chambeig and the vaporized oil will pass 5 througheither the pipe'9 or lOmto the upper generat ng chamber-8';' The upper generat ng I chamberSI-is connected to a pipe3'6jandthis 'pipe-36 as shownin .Fig. 2' of the drawings,

is connected to an airxmixer 37'; V This air mixer is, in construction, ofthe typeshown in my companion application Serial No. 50,961,*filed of even'dat'e herewith and detaildescription thereof is notthought necessary.

This air mixerhas a suitable intake valve yieldingly closed and subject to the suction of the engine. The vaporized oil passing twill then pass to ,the'manifold of the engine. A. suitable valve is provided so that the vaporized oil mixture just referred to may becut off and the engine connected to an ordinary gasoline carburetor for starting. Suitable means indicated at 88 is also provided for collecting'the heavy condensing 011 vapors n the air -mixing chamber and leading the same'back to the supply.

The generating chambersfi and 7 are inclined slightly downwardly from the righthandend as viewed in Fig. 3, to the rear or left-hand end thereof, and the purpose of this to cause any oil collecting in the bottom of I the chamber to flow to the farther end there of, so that it will be subjected to avapjorizing heat for the full length of time available in the generator. The vaporized oil passes 1 from these lower generators through the pipes 9 and 10 to the upper generator and thence along the upper generator and out through the pipe 36. v This upper generator is inclined from the left-hand end to the right-hand end thereof, as indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, so that any heavy oil .accumulating or collecting on the bottom of the upper generating chamber will flow along cleaned. The=wallsof the generatingchambers are straight,and when the cap plates are removed, they canbe .readilyscraped'a The useof the steam, however,'to a-great extent avoids the-necessity of the cleaning of these generators. 1

the air ismixed therewith, and therefore, the steam'is thoroughly mixed 'with the air and The steam passes along with the vaporized oil and is present in the'vaporized oil before vaporized oil as the explosive mixture passes intothe engine cylinders, The presence of the steam .in the fuel mixture likewise prevents the formation of carbon deposits on the walls acs air

While I 1 have I shown the steam introduced into the-fuel mixture as generated in the vaporizing chamber forthehydrocarbon oil, it will beunderstood thatv steam may be are otherwise intermixedwith the vaporizedoil, I 7

but it is essentiah'however, tothe present invention,zthat' this mixing ofthe steam with the-vaporized oil occurs before thevaporized oil reachesthe.jcombustion chamber and it.

is preferable to. mixthe steam with the vaporizedoil inthe vaporizing chamber, as it prevents the formationof carbon deposits therer v in, and thus greatly increases the-efliciency of vaporization'in thegeneratingchambers. 0

WVhile I have shown the vaporizer as located in a connection between the exhaust pipe and the exhaust manifold, it will beunder-r stood that this vaporizer may be placed in the engine cylinder as shown in my prior application, Serial No. 49,527, filed August 11, 1925. Likewise, this vaporizer may be entirely separate from the exhaust manifold or the engine cylinder, and the exhaust gases passed into said vaporizer for heating the generating chambers therein, as shown for example in my copending application above referred to.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and'the arrangement of the parts may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. i

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters- D Patent, is

1. A vaporizer for hydrocarbon engines comprising a casing, means for passing the exhaust gases from the engine through said casing, a plurality of generating chambers locatedin said casing and connected one to another, means for supplying oil to one of said chambers whereby the oil fed thereto will be vaporized and caused to pass into another chamber, means for leading the vaporized oil from said last named chamber out through the casing into an air mixer, means for regulating the supply of oil to said chambers, means for supplying water to the chambers whereby steam is generated andintermixed with the vaporized oil, and means for regulating the amount of water supplied to the chamhers, the chamber receiving the vaporized oil being higher than the chamber receiving the oil to be vaporized and inclinedso that any" oil collecting on the bottom of the higher chamber will drain back into the chamber re ceiving the oil from the supply and be subjected to further vaporizing heat. 7

2. A vaporizer for hydrocarbon engines comprising a casing having an opening in the bottom thereof whereby the exhaust gases from the engine may be caused to pass into said casing, said casing having an opening in the upper end thereof through which the exhaust gases pass from the casing, said casing having inwardly projecting portions forming spaced compartments located within the casing, a vaporizing chamber removably secured in each compartment, battle plates located in said casing and forming a conneclast named chamber and extending through said casing for conducting the vaporized oil to an air mixer. I

8. A vaporizer for hydrocarbon engines comprising a casing having an opening in the bottom thereof whereby the exhaust gases from the engine may be caused to passint'o said casing, said casing having an opening in the upper end thereof through which the exhaust gases pass from the casing, said casing having inwardly projecting portions forming spaced compartments located within the casing, a vaporizing chamber removably secured in each compartment, baffle plates lo cated in said casing and forming a connectio between the outer walls of said compartments and the inner walls of said casingwhereby the exhaust gases are caused to flow in a circuitous path about said compartments, means for supplying one of said vaporizing chambers with a hydrocarbon oil, means for connecting said vaporizing chambers whereby the vaporized oil will pass into another chamber, means connected to the last named chamber and extending through said casing for V JAMES WM. INGLETON;

tion between the outer walls of said compartporizing chambers with a hydrocarbon oil,

means for connecting said vaporizing cham- 'bers whereby the vaporized oil will pass into another chamber andmeans connected to the 

